After he was limited late last season due to a right foot injury, LeBron James has reportedly looked very spry to start training camp for the 2023-24 campaign.
He said on media day he had worked to get his right foot back to where it was before he tore a tendon in it in late February. Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said the 38-year-old superstar has regained his burst and even looks like a much younger version of himself.
The Lakers will begin their preseason schedule on Saturday against the Golden State Warriors, however, James will not play in that game.
LeBron won’t play in the preseason opener, continuing a pattern from the last several training camps of having a plan re: how many minutes he’s on the court.
Ham: “He’s in phenomenal shape … and he’s probably played more than the rest of our roster combined (excluding AD).”
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) October 5, 2023
James did say on Thursday that he will get on the court for at least a few of the team’s exhibition contests.
Via ESPN:
“Six preseason games, so hopefully I can get to at least half of them,” James said after practice Thursday. “But we’ll see. I think every game will dictate it. I will not be playing in Saturday’s game, that’s for sure, in the Bay. But we’ll see after that.”
At this point in his career, James must prioritize rest and recovery to keep himself fresh throughout an entire season. In addition, the Lakers are returning most of their core from late last season, which means minimal chemistry needs to be built with new rotation players.
Still, he needs to be on the court for a substantial part of the exhibition schedule so that the team can be up and running when it starts the regular season at the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets on Oct. 24.